Nigeria: Country Report | 2024
AI Generated Analysis based on UNHCR Forced Displacement Statisitics.
Executive Summary
Of course. Here is the executive summary for the report on Nigeria.
Key Trends: The Displacement Crisis in Nigeria (2024)
A humanitarian crisis of staggering scale continues to unfold in Nigeria, defined by an unrelenting internal displacement emergency now affecting over 3.4 million people. This figure, a record high, has grown consistently in recent years and underscores the devastating human cost of protracted conflict. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) represent 96 per cent of all persons of concern, making this overwhelmingly a domestic crisis of international concern. The displaced population is profoundly young and vulnerable, with a high dependency ratio that places immense strain on essential services like protection, education, and health.
Amidst this internal challenge, Nigeria and its neighbours shoulder a significant regional responsibility. Nigeria serves as a critical host country, primarily for over 78,000 refugees fleeing violence in Cameroon. This dual role—as both a major source of IDPs and a significant host to refugees—places immense pressure on national systems and host communities. Meanwhile, Nigerians seeking protection abroad face a ‘protection lottery,’ with inconsistent recognition rates and procedural hurdles that undermine access to safety. This highlights a shared global responsibility to ensure stronger, better-resourced, and more consistent asylum processes.
The pursuit of durable solutions presents a starkly divided picture. While remarkable progress has been made in finding pathways home for displaced Nigerians—with solution rates remaining nearly double pre-2021 levels—this success is overshadowed by a profound solutions deficit for refugees hosted in Nigeria. A widening gap between refugee recognition and long-term solutions has left thousands in protracted uncertainty. In early 2024, only five solutions were recorded against nearly 4,200 individuals granted refugee status. This critical gap between granting protection and securing a future demands urgent international attention, burden-sharing, and investment in lasting solutions.
Population Overview
Population Overview: Nigeria
The humanitarian landscape in Nigeria is overwhelmingly defined by a severe and escalating internal displacement crisis. By early 2024, the number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) stood at over 3.4 million. Behind this stark number lies a profound reality: IDPs constitute a staggering 96.4 per cent of the total population of concern in the country, overshadowing all other displaced and stateless groups combined.
The data reveals that this is not a recent emergency but the culmination of a deeply concerning multi-year trend. The number of people displaced within Nigeria’s borders has grown consistently since 2019, reaching its current peak and demonstrating the unrelenting impact of conflict and insecurity. The crisis shows no signs of abating; in fact, the period between the end of 2023 and early 2024 saw a net increase of more than 119,000 internally displaced persons. This single increase far outweighs all other population movements recorded during the same period, pointing to a persistent and active driver of displacement.
The demographic profile of the displaced population underscores its profound vulnerability. It is an exceptionally young population, with children under the age of five forming the largest single cohort. This pyramid structure, with its wide base, indicates a high dependency ratio and an urgent need for targeted interventions in child protection, education, and maternal and child health. A notable gender imbalance is also evident, with females slightly outnumbering males across most age groups.
While internal displacement is the primary challenge, Nigeria also serves as a critical host country for refugees. Here, too, the situation is dominated by a single crisis. Refugees fleeing violence in Cameroon’s North-West and South-West regions number over 78,000, accounting for the vast majority of all refugees in the country and highlighting the regional spillover effects of instability.
Demographics
AI Insight: Treemap chart of the Population of Concern in Nigeria by type, where Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) constitute the vast majority with over 3.4 million individuals., This treemap visualization breaks down Nigeria’s total Population of Concern, which stands at 3,560,000 individuals as of 2024. The chart is dominated by a single category: Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), who number 3,432,959. This group alone makes up 96.4% of the total population, and their corresponding rectangle occupies the vast majority of the chart’s area.
The remaining 3.6% of the population, totaling 127,041 individuals, are distributed among six other smaller categories. These include Returned IDPs (35,721), Returned Refugees (5), and other groups such as asylum-seekers and refugees. The statistical profile confirms this highly skewed distribution, with the median population size across all seven categories being just 309. Visually, the chart emphasizes the scale of the internal displacement crisis in Nigeria, which vastly overshadows all other populations of concern in the country.
AI Insight: Population pyramid of forcibly displaced and stateless persons in Nigeria by age and gender, where females slightly outnumber males and the largest cohort is children under the age of 5., This population pyramid illustrates the age and gender structure of the 7,856,849 refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced persons (IDPs), stateless persons, and other populations of concern in Nigeria, as of 2024. Gender disaggregation is available for 100% of the individuals recorded.
The vertical axis categorizes the population into age groups (0-4, 5-11, 12-17, 18-59, and 60+), while the horizontal axis represents the percentage of the total population, with males on the left and females on the right.
The pyramid has a wide base and narrows towards the top, a classic shape indicating a young and rapidly growing population with a high dependency ratio. The largest demographic segment is children aged 0-4 years.
A key observation is the gender imbalance across the population. Females constitute a larger proportion than males in most age groups. Statistically, the average percentage for female age cohorts is 11.5%, compared to 8.5% for male cohorts. The disparity is most pronounced in the youngest age groups. This demographic profile underscores the critical need for targeted humanitarian programming focused on child protection, education, and maternal and child health.
Trends Over Time
AI Insight: Column chart of population types in Nigeria from 2019 to 2024, where Internally Displaced Persons consistently represent the vast majority of the population of concern, peaking at over 3.4 million in 2023., This column chart displays the number of persons of concern to UNHCR in Nigeria, categorized by population type, for each year from 2019 to 2024. The data reveals a stark humanitarian landscape dominated by internal displacement.
Key Observations: - Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs): This is by far the largest group in every year shown. The number of IDPs demonstrates a significant and concerning upward trend, growing from approximately 2 million in the earlier years of the period to a peak of over 3.4 million in 2023. This highlights the severe and ongoing impact of conflict and insecurity within Nigeria.
Returned IDPs: This group is the second largest, though substantially smaller than the active IDP population. The number of returned IDPs fluctuates annually, with a notable peak of over 205,000 in one year, indicating periods where conditions may have allowed for some returns, though displacement remains the predominant issue.
Other Population Groups: All other categories, including Asylum-seekers, Returned Refugees, Stateless Persons, and Others of Concern, are numerically insignificant in comparison to IDPs. Their counts are consistently low, often registering in the tens of thousands or less, making their bars on the chart barely visible next to the massive columns representing IDPs.
In summary, the visualization underscores that the primary humanitarian challenge in Nigeria during this period is internal displacement, which has affected millions and continued to escalate through 2023. The scale of internal displacement dwarfs all other populations of concern combined, pointing to a crisis driven by internal conflict and instability.
AI Insight: Bar chart of population group changes in Nigeria between 2023 and 2024, where Internally Displaced Persons experienced a massive increase of over 119,000, while other groups saw significantly smaller changes., This bar chart illustrates the absolute and percentage changes in various population groups of concern to UNHCR in Nigeria, comparing data from year-end 2023 to early 2024. The chart is designed as a divergence plot, with a central vertical axis at zero. Bars extending to the right indicate an increase in population, while bars to the left indicate a decrease.
Key statistical observations from the data are as follows: - The most significant change is a substantial increase in one population group, which grew by 119,358 people (+4%). Given the context in Nigeria, this group is almost certainly Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). - A second group experienced an increase of 20,447 people, a notable percentage rise of 38%. - A third group saw a minor increase of 225 people (0.3%). - Three groups experienced decreases: one by 13 people (-0.1%), another by 76 people (-0.1%), and the largest decrease was 3,426 people (-4%).
Analytically, the chart highlights that the humanitarian landscape in Nigeria during this period is overwhelmingly defined by the growth of its internally displaced population. This single increase far outweighs all other changes combined, pointing to a persistent or escalating internal crisis as the primary driver of forced displacement in the country.
AI Insight: Horizontal bar chart of the top 9 countries of origin for refugees in Nigeria in 2024, where the refugee population from Cameroon (78,356) is substantially larger than all other origins combined., This horizontal bar chart details the countries of origin for refugees residing in Nigeria as of 2024. The data reveals a highly skewed distribution, dominated by a single country of origin.
Statistical Analysis: The dataset includes 10 origin groups. The leading country of origin is Cameroon, with 78,356 refugees, which constitutes the vast majority of the refugee population shown. This single group dramatically influences the statistical profile, creating a significant right skew in the data, as evidenced by the mean (9,639) being nearly 20 times larger than the median (487). The remaining eight specified countries of origin, along with an ‘Other’ category, have much smaller refugee populations, ranging from a minimum of 59 to a 75th percentile of 888 individuals.
Humanitarian Context: The overwhelming number of refugees from Cameroon is a direct consequence of the ongoing crisis in the country’s North-West and South-West regions, which has led to significant internal and external displacement. These refugees are primarily hosted in Nigeria’s Cross River, Taraba, Benue, and Akwa-Ibom states. The much smaller figures from other countries reflect various other regional and international situations, but the data underscores that Nigeria’s primary refugee caseload is defined by the Cameroonian crisis.
Geography & Movements
Geography of Displacement: The Nigerian Context
The data reveals a displacement crisis connected to Nigeria of two vastly different scales: a massive, protracted internal challenge, and a far smaller, though widespread, cross-border movement. As of 2024, the overwhelming majority of Nigerians forcibly displaced by conflict and violence—over 3.4 million people—remain within their country’s borders. This figure, representing the country’s internally displaced person (IDP) population, underscores that the primary humanitarian arena is domestic, driven largely by protracted conflict in the northeast and inter-communal violence.
Behind these stark numbers lies a story of immense concentration. While displaced Nigerians are recorded in 99 countries globally, the distribution is profoundly skewed. The median number of displaced people from Nigeria hosted per country is just 33, highlighting that for most of the world, this is a small-scale phenomenon. However, for Nigeria’s immediate neighbours—primarily Cameroon, Chad, and Niger—the situation is more acute, as they host the largest Nigerian refugee populations and bear the primary regional responsibility.
Analysis over time confirms the enduring nature of this internal crisis, which consistently dwarfs all other forced displacement situations within the country. Yet, Nigeria simultaneously plays a critical role as a host nation. The country provides refuge to tens of thousands of people, with the refugee population dominated by a single nationality, with over 78,000 individuals fleeing from a crisis in a neighbouring state. This dual role, as both a major source of IDPs and a significant host to refugees, places immense strain on national resources and host communities, illustrating the complex and layered nature of forced displacement in the region. The data consistently points to an urgent need for solutions and support focused within Nigeria’s borders, while also recognizing the protection needs of those who have sought refuge within them.
AI Insight: Choropleth map of destination countries for displaced people from Nigeria as of 2024, where the vast majority are internally displaced within Nigeria itself, with significantly smaller populations in other countries., This choropleth map illustrates the global distribution of displaced populations originating from Nigeria, including refugees, asylum-seekers, and internally displaced persons (IDPs), as of 2024. The data reveals a highly concentrated displacement crisis.
Statistical Analysis: The dataset covers 99 countries hosting displaced people from Nigeria. The distribution is extremely right-skewed, which is evident from the key statistics: - Maximum: The single largest population is 3,432,959 individuals hosted in one country. This figure represents the IDP population within Nigeria, highlighting that the crisis is predominantly internal. - Mean: The average number of displaced persons per country is approximately 40,200. - Median: The median is only 33, indicating that half of the host countries have 33 or fewer displaced people from Nigeria. - Quartiles: 75% of host countries have 414 or fewer individuals, while the bottom 25% host 10 or fewer.
The vast difference between the mean and the median is caused by the outlier figure of IDPs in Nigeria. This shows that while displacement from Nigeria has a global reach, the scale is vastly different between internal, regional, and extra-regional destinations.
Context and Interpretation: The data underscores that the primary humanitarian challenge related to displacement from Nigeria is located within its own borders. Protracted conflict, particularly in the northeast, and inter-communal violence are major drivers of this internal displacement. Following Nigeria, the next largest populations are typically found in neighboring countries like Cameroon, Chad, and Niger, which serve as the primary destinations for Nigerian refugees. The small numbers seen across most other countries globally represent a comparatively minor flow of asylum-seekers and refugees who have traveled further afield.
Origin of Displaced Populations
AI Insight: * Horizontal bar chart of the top 9 countries of origin for refugees in Nigeria in 2024, where one country accounts for the vast majority of the total refugee population.*, This horizontal bar chart displays the number of refugees in Nigeria by their top nine countries of origin, plus an ‘Other’ category, for the year 2024. The data reveals a highly skewed distribution. A single country of origin is the source for 78,356 refugees, representing a significant outlier and the largest group by a substantial margin. The remaining eight countries and the ‘Other’ category have far smaller refugee populations. The median number of refugees from these other countries of origin is 487. Half of these groups comprise between 150 and 888 individuals, with the smallest group numbering just 59 people. This distribution underscores that while Nigeria hosts refugees from diverse origins, the humanitarian response is predominantly focused on the crisis affecting the primary country of origin.
AI Insight: Alluvial plot of the origin of forcibly displaced populations in Nigeria from 2019 to 2025, where internally displaced Nigerians consistently constitute the overwhelming majority of the total population., This alluvial plot visualizes the composition and evolution of forcibly displaced populations within Nigeria over a seven-year period, from 2019 to 2025. The data is disaggregated by the country of origin, highlighting three main groups: Nigeria (Internally Displaced Persons - IDPs), Cameroon (primarily refugees), and ‘Other’ nationalities.
A detailed statistical analysis reveals a significant disparity between the groups. The population originating from within Nigeria is by far the largest, with figures reaching a maximum of 3,575,114. This underscores the scale of the internal displacement crisis in the country. In contrast, the other groups are substantially smaller. The median population size across all data points is 87,010, which likely reflects the scale of the Cameroonian refugee population. The ‘Other’ category is the smallest, with a minimum recorded value of 2,699 people. The chart’s flows illustrate how the size of each of these populations changes over time, consistently showing that the humanitarian situation in Nigeria is dominated by its internal displacement challenges rather than cross-border refugee influx.
Destination
AI Insight: Bar chart of the top 10 destination countries for forcibly displaced people from Nigeria as of 2024, where one country hosts a vastly larger population than all others., This bar chart displays the distribution of forcibly displaced populations from Nigeria across the top 10 destination countries as of 2024. The data shows a highly concentrated distribution, with a significant outlier. One country serves as the primary destination, hosting approximately 31 million people. This figure dramatically skews the dataset, as the mean number of displaced people across the 10 countries is approximately 3.57 million, while the median is only 266,784. The number of displaced people hosted by these countries ranges from a minimum of 95,515 to the maximum of 30,951,355. The vast difference between the top country and the others highlights a specific and concentrated displacement corridor, which is critical for understanding the support and infrastructure needs for this population.
